Plane disappeared in Monroe County, Alabama in June 1961

An example of a Cessna 182.

Each passing year around the middle of June, I am reminded of the fact that we are approaching the anniversary of one of the most unusual aviation incidents in Monroe County history. The mystery began on the night of June 17, 1961 when a Cessna 182 took off in Tennessee and vanished, only to be found over three and a half years later in Monroe County.

The plane was owned by the Security Life Investment Co. of Nashville, Tenn. and was occupied by Gene McGill, 18, of Mobile and John O. Leu, 22, of Nashville. McGill, who worked for the firm, was the plane’s pilot, and Leu was the company’s treasurer and the son of the firm’s president, Frank R. Leu. The plane was last heard from when McGill radioed air traffic controllers that he was turning back due to bad weather.

Once it became apparent that the plane had crashed, a massive search was launched that included the Civil Air Patrol, which established its search headquarters in Evergreen. Other searchers included members of the Monroe County Rescue Squad, helicopters from Fort Rucker, several other light airplanes, radio-equipped automobiles, searchers on horseback and four friends of the plane’s occupants from Nashville.

The search covered a wide area because an oil slick and other evidence found a week after the crash led many to believe that the plane had crashed into the Alabama River near Mount Vernon in Mobile County. Also residents of Tunnel Springs in Monroe County reported hearing a plane that sounded like it was in trouble on the night of the crash. A group on horseback, which was led by Albert Nettles Jr., also searched the Packer’s Bend area of Monroe County without any luck.

Despite best efforts, bad weather kept rescuers, especially those in helicopters and planes, from finding the crashed plane, and Civil Air Patrol Col. H.L. LeMien called off the search after about a week, saying that the area involved had been thoroughly searched.

Mystery surrounded the fate of the plane for over three and a half years until Dec. 30, 1964 when 15-year-old Edmond Jerkins of Stapleton made an unusual discovery while squirrel hunting near Uriah. According to reports, Jerkins came upon wreckage in a wooded area, and the wreckage was covered by three year’s worth of fallen leaves. At first, Jerkins didn’t know that it was a plane until he removed leaves from the plane’s body and found the aircraft’s serial number.

Jerkins notified the authorities and when they arrived at the crash site, about 12 miles northwest of Uriah near Popular Springs Church at Jeddo, they found the remains of McGill and Leu. Authorities confirmed their identities from their wallets and baggage inside the plane, which was largely still intact and unburned. Apparently, the plane had nosed straight into the ground and debris from the crash was confined to a 25-foot area around the plane.

In the end, if you know of any other unusual aviation incidents from this area, I’d be interested to hear about them, so shoot me an e-mail at news@monroejournal.com.